PANGEA Cal/Val center for enhancing Earth Observation R&I in the Mediterranean

Project Information

PANGEA4CalVal

Grant agreement ID: 101079201

DOI

10.3030/101079201

Project closed

EC signature date 25 July 2022

Start date 1 October 2022

End date 30 September 2025

Funded under

• Widening participation and spreading excellence

Total cost

€ 1 499 905,00

EU contribution

€ 1 499 905,00

Coordinated by

ETHNIKO ASTEROSKOPEIO ATHINON
Greece

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PANGEA4CalVal (PANGEA Cal/Val center for enhancing Earth Observation R&I in the Mediterranean)

Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2025-09-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The Greek island of Antikythera, whose name is linked to the history of science, is being transformed into a state-of-the-art climate observatory and a pioneer station for climate and weather research in the Mediterranean. The National Observatory of Athens (NOA), is building the Panhellenic Geophysical Observatory of Antikythera (PANGEA), a large remote sensing infrastructure, leveraging on a strategic investment of the European Investment Bank. The Mediterranean is one of the most climate-sensitive areas on the planet, and the observatory will fill a very important geographical gap in research on climate change and its implications. NOA holds significant expertise in Earth Observation to fulfill this mission, but it lacks scientific background in key areas of remote sensing and radiative transfer theory and applications, along with certain technological background. The PANGEA4CalVal Twinning project aspires to fill these gaps, by building upon PANGEA a framework of knowledge, R&I and management capacity, to establish a Centre for Earth Observation (EO) and satellite Calibration/Validation (Cal/Val) in the Mediterranean region. The project will enhance the human capacity and R&I growth in the region, towards supporting frontier environmental and climate research. PANGEA4CalVal is timely, to address the tremendous evolution of EO in both technology and application domains, the advent of the so-called “New Space” paradigm, along with the additional needs for satellite Cal/Val and enhancement of Copernicus Services. The project will apply a comprehensive set of activities to transfer knowhow from advanced partners in Europe, aiming to fill the identified knowledge gaps and fulfill the project objectives. PANGEA4CalVal will develop an open-access framework for PANGEA, with the mandate to bring together academia, industry, regional authorities and the civil society, to transform R&I capacities into socio-economic benefits for the region and the EU.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

PANGEA4CalVal will raise the bar of excellence of NOA, towards establishing the PANGEA climate observatory as a center for Cal/Val services and EO-based research in the Mediterranean. Within the framework of the Twinning activity, expert organizations (i.e. POLITO, LMU MUENCHEN and KNMI) will transfer knowhow on producing high-quality EO data and services through Cal/Val, prioritizing the development of reference systems, the delivery of Fiducial Reference Measurements (FRMs) from in situ platforms, and the derivation of high-level products from remote sensing, focusing on aerosol-radiation-cloud-precipitation interaction studies over the Mediterranean. PANGEA4CalVal will also spread this knowledge on national level, raising the research capacity of the atmospheric remote sensing community in Greece, supporting the national R&I ecosystem towards the development of observing systems, data and services for climate monitoring and satellite Cal/Val, and enhancing EO-based research in the wider region. The thorough training and collaboration program will follow knowledge & research data management practices, acknowledging the EU open science principles.
Moreover, NOA will co-design and co-develop with the advanced partners of the project, tailored access modalities for PANGEA NRI along with the management framework needed for their effective application. This scheme will facilitate the efficient use of PANGEA services, through the provision of open-access services to quality-assured datasets for weather and climate research, quality assurance frameworks and reference systems for new instruments and products, FRMs and Cal/Val services.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

By the end of the Twinning project, NOA/PANGEA will reach scientific autonomy on the majority of subjects related to Cal/Val and EO to conduct cutting-edge climate research. Furthermore, NOA will be in position to use the knowledge/research/management framework created within the PANGEA4CalVal project, to build PANGEA as a center of EO-based climate and weather research and Cal/Val activities in the Mediterranean.
NOA will possess knowledge in terms of sophisticated remote sensing retrieval algorithms, instrument simulators, and radiative transfer codes, along with educated researchers on the related remote sensing fields, and will efficiently spread scientific knowhow at national level to maximize the impact of the Twinning activity. Furthermore, NOA will acquire the technological knowhow on designing reference systems to deliver FRMs for Cal/Val activities, and it will develop strong ties with the local industry to facilitate the development and commercialization of these instruments, enhancing also the career permeability of its researchers within academia and industry.
NOA will be further linked to its advanced partners, Space Agencies and Pan-European RIs, including further organizations and networks that will be introduced by the advanced partners and the Advisory Board.
The management of PANGEA will be modernized through the Twinning activity, to include open science and IPR best practices, facilitating the exploitation of the products and services, contributing to the sustainability of the PANGEA strategic investment of the Greek state and the European Investment Bank. PANGEA4CalVal will set up an open-boundary framework for PANGEA, with the mandate to bring together excellent research, businesses, civil society, and government, to transform research results into socio-economic benefits for the region and the EU.

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